User Guide for Campus Pack
Creating Blogs and Journals
Creating Blogs and Journals
This sections explains the how to create blogs or private journals in your course or organization. The options allow you to create different kinds of assignments and learning activities. The most common types are:
Create the Blog
You can create a blog by adding a special kind of content type within a course or organization Content Area, such as Assignments or Course Documents.
- Click the Control Panel link.
- Choose the content area (i.e. Course Documents, Assignments, etc.) where you wish to create the blog.
- Select Blog from the Select drop-down list in the right corner of the action bar.
- Click the Go button to create the blog.
Configure the Blog
Blog Information
Once you have accessed the Create Blog page, you need to complete some information to configure it.
- Enter the name of the blog in the Blog Name field.
- Enter the description of the blog in the Description field if applicable.
Select Members
Assign the participants (or members) for this blog. This will be the list of authors who will post entries into this blog. You can mix and match individuals and existing groups or pick All Students option. Journals can be made individual by selecting a single user as the only team member and setting the view dates for other users to dates outside of the course duration.
Note: The group option will only appear if groups have already been defined within the course.
- Select a group from the Course Groups box.
- Click
to move the group to the select Groups box. - Select All Students or individual members from the Course Members box.
- Click to move the course members to the select Group Members box.
Options
The next section allows you to set various options for this blog. These options allow you to configure this blog for different types of learning activities.
- Configure the availability and permissions options for the blog.
Do you want to make this content visible?
Choose the No option if this blog should be hidden from all students. Chose the Yes option if the link should be visible.
Do you want to allow users to view posts by other users?
Choose the Yes option if students can see other students' entries. Choose the No option if students should only see their own entries.
Do you want to enable a public (unauthenticated) RSS feed?
Choose the Yes option to enable public RSS feed for this blog. Choose the No option to disable RSS. If RSS is enabled, you will find a red RSS button (
)with the URL in the bottom right corner of the blog.
Be sure that you do not turn this feature on if there is sensitive information in the blog. If you don't know exactly what this option means, then please leave the option off.
Allow students to purge blog entries?
Choose the Yes option if students are allowed to permanently delete entries in the blog.
Who do you want to allow to comment on blog entries?
Select the Nobody option to turn off the comments function; select the Instructor Only option if the instructors is the only person who should add comments; or select the Everyone in Course option if students can also participate.
When can members post to the blog?
Use the date ranges to specify the time range within which students can edit pages. By default there are no date restrictions placed on editing, if editing is enabled for students.
When can other course users view the blog?
Use the date ranges to specify the time range within which students can view pages. By default there are no date restrictions placed on viewing, if viewing is enabled for students.
How shall public references to students be displayed?
If students are posting to this blog, use this option to specify how their names will appear on the screen.
Note: If your institution includes sensitive information in usernames, do not select the User Name or Both options.
Create Gradebook Entry
If the blog is being graded, select the Create a Gradebook Entry option and specify the information for a Gradebook entry to be created for the blog. To remove this entry from the Gradebook after creating it, do so from the Gradebook.
Optionally create a grade book entry that relates to this assignment.
Text Direction
The last step allows you to set the language options. If you are building sites in a language that is read right-to-left, such as Arabic, you can set the primary text direction. If you do not select an option in this field, all text in the blog will be displayed left-to-right by default.
- Choose text direction if needed (if you are using right-to-left language).
- Once you have made your selections, click the OK button to create the blog.
Also see the Creating a Private Journal, Creating an Individual Blog, Creating a Group Blog topics for more information.
